According to "Liver Fluke - the Facts", a paper published by Animal Health Ireland (AHI), liver fluke costs the worldwide livestock and food industries an estimated €2.5 million per year. These financial losses associated with liver fluke are mainly due to a reduction in the amount of milk and meat produced. Liver fluke can cause a loss of up to 20% in cattle, 30% in sheep and a loss of up to 8% in the milk production of dairy cows.

Identifying infected cattle:

It can sometimes be hard to see the signs of fluke in infected cattle and a slight decline in the performance of the herd can be hard to associate to a single factor. Yet liver fluke affects at least 50% of all Irish herds. The following lists will show some of the common signs that your herd has been infected by liver fluke.

In Young Stock

• Weakened calves
• Reduced weight at the time of weaning caused by both the poor quality and quantity of the milk being produced
• Poor feed conversion
• On occasion anaemia, loss of weight and even death in animals younger than 2 years old.

In Breeding Stock

• Weakened or incapacitated cows, especially in later stages of pregnancy.
• Lower fertility rates which leads to an increase in culls
• Sale weight of cull cows reduced
• Production of milk is greatly reduced
• Reduction in the nutritional value of the milk
• Lower conception rates
• Slower growth in heifers
• Delay in the onset of first oestrus in the herd
• Poor reproductive performance from bulls